A passive optical network (PON) is one system for providing network access over “the last mile.” The PON is a point to multi-point network comprised of an optical line terminal (OLT) at the central office, an optical distribution network (ODN), and a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) at the customer premises. In some PON systems, such as Gigabit PON (GPON) systems, downstream data is broadcasted at about 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) while upstream data is transmitted at about 1.25 Gbps. However, the bandwidth capability of the PON systems is expected to increase as the demands for services increase. To meet the increased demand in services, some emerging PON systems, such as Next Generation Access (NGA) systems, are being reconfigured to transport the data frames with improved reliability and efficiency at higher bandwidths, for example at about ten Gbps.